Child Advocacy Center, P3 Center receive pandemic emergency assistance funding

Women served by the Child Advocacy Center of Niagara, a service of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, along with clients of Memorial’s P3 Center for Teens, Moms and Kids, have received awards totaling $122,133.11 from the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund (PEAF).

The funds were received as part of the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, in collaboration with the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, distribution of $21 million in grants to survivors of domestic violence from PEAF.

Allocations of the awarded amount included relocation assistance and expenses, security deposit and rental assistance, back rent, short-term utility payments, emergency food aid and clothing allowances for 44 women and 95 children through Memorial’s Child Advocacy Center and P3 program.

“The disproportionate negative impacts on women and children during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic are well-documented. This is especially true for women and children living below the poverty line,” said Shelley Hitzel, executive director of The Child Advocacy Center of Niagara. “In Niagara County, specifically Niagara Falls, women and children experienced an increased risk of gender-based violence, economic stress and a significant decrease in community supports. The PEAF grant provided Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center an opportunity to mitigate some of those negative impacts.”

A press release noted, “The support and guidance from PEAF targeted programs provide vital resources to survivors in their community.”

The Child Advocacy Center of Niagara is a multidisciplinary program that responds to reports of physical and sexual child abuse by coordinating a unified response by criminal justice, medical and mental health services all at a single location. The P3 Center for Teens, Moms and Kids offers free services to women to improve their health and the health of their newborns and children. Services include health needs assessments, physician referrals and care management.

 For more information on these services, visit www.nfmmc.org/community-services.